Victims of identity theft now have a new resource to help them report and recover from identity theft. .In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received 330,000 complaints related to identity theft. Now, the agency has launched IdentityTheft.gov to assist those affected by this crime. There is a Spanish-language version of the site available at RobodeIdentidad.gov.
According to the site, victims of identity theft have the right to:
- create an identity theft report
- place a 90-day initial fraud alert on their credit reports
- place a seven-year extended fraud alert on their credit reports
- get free copies of their credit reports
- get fraudulent information removed (or “blocked”) from their credit reports
- dispute fraudulent or inaccurate information on their credit reports
- stop creditors and debt collectors from reporting fraudulent accounts
- get copies of documents related to the identity theft
- stop a debt collector from contacting them.
IdentityTheft.gov details the actions a consumer can take to exercise these rights and protect their identity and credit report.
The website includes an interactive checklist that takes consumers step-by-step through the recovery process. The checklists include links to helpful resources, and can be printed to track completed steps. There are plans of what to do right away, what to do next, and what to do when specific types of identity theft occur.
In addition to the checklists and action plans, there are sample letters consumers can use to dispute fraudulent charges to credit and debit cards, notify credit bureaus, deal with debt collectors and more. The site also has advice for people who have been notified that their personal information was exposed in a data breach.
